Friday, July 20, 2007

Question:Why does Islam degrade(merendahkan) women by keeping them behind the veil(purdah)?

Answer:

1. The status of women in Islam is often the target of attacks by the secular media.

2. The hijab or the Islamic dress is cited by many as an example of the subjugation(penaklukan) of women under Islamic law. Before we analyze the reasoning behind the religious mandate of ‘hijab’, let us first study the status of women in societies before advent of Islam.

In the past women were degraded and used as objects of lust (nafsu). The following examples from history illustrate the fact that the status of women in earlier civilization was very low to the extent that they were denied basic human dignity:

(i) Babyloniaan Civilization

Women were degraded and were denied all rights under the Babylonian law. If a man murdered another women/man, instead of him being punished, his wife was put to death.

(ii) Greek Civilization

Greek civilization is considered the most glorious of all ancient civilizations. Under this very ‘glorious’ system, women were deprived ( dilucutkan) of all rights and were looked down upon. In Greek methodology, an ‘imaginary woman’ called ‘Pandora’ is the root cause of misfortune of human beings. The Greeks considered women to be subhuman and inferior (bawahan) to men. Though chastity (kesucian) of women was precious, and women were held in high esteem, the Greeks were later overwhelmed (tumpas) by ego and sexual perversion (perbuatan tak wajar). Prostitution became a regular practice amongst all classes of Greek society.

(iii) Roman Civilization

When Roman Civilization was at the zenith (puncak) of its ‘glory’, a man even had the right to take the life of his wife. Prostitution and nudity (sensor, carik sendiri maknanya) were common amongst the Romans.

(iv) Egyptian Civilization

The Egyption (pre-Islam) considered women evil and as sign of the devil.

(v) Pre-Islam Arabia

Before Islam spread in Arabia, the Arabs looked down upon women and very often when a female child was born, she was buried alive!

Islam uplifted the status of women and granted then their rights 1400 years ago. Islam expects women to maintain their status.

Hijab for Men

People usually only discuss ‘hijab’ in the context of women. However, in the Glorious Quran Allah (swt) first mentions ‘hijab’ for men before ‘hijab’ for the women. The Quran mentions in Surah Noor:

“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze (pandangan) and guard their modesty: that they will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted ( kenal terhadap) will all they do”

[An-Noor 24:30]

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen (kurang ajar) or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

Hijab for women

The next verse of Surah An-Noor, says:

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments (perhiasan) except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof that they should dram veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons…”

[An-Noor 24:31]

3. Six criteria for Hijab.

According to Quran and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijab:

(i) Extent

The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel (pusat) to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and hands up to the wrist (pergelangan tangan). If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars (ilmuan) of Islam insist (menyatakan dgn tegas) that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of ‘hijab’.

All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.

(ii) The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.

(iii) The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them. (iv) The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.

(v) The clothes worn should not resemble (menyamai) those of the opposite sex.

(vi) The clothes worn should not resemble those of the unbeliever i.e. they should not wear clothes or symbols of unbelievers’s religions.

4. Hijab includes conduct and behaviour among other things. Complete ‘hijab’ besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person fulfilling only the criteria of ‘hijab’ of the clothes is observing ‘hijab’ in a limited sense. ‘Hijab’ of the clothes should be accompanied by ‘hijab’ of the eyes, ‘hijab’ of the heart, ‘hijab’ of thought and ‘hijab’ of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, talks, behaves, etc.

5. Hijab prevents molestation.

The reason hijab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Quran in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab:

“O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”[Al-Ahzab 33:59]

The Quran says that Hijab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.

6. Examples of twin sisters.

Suppose two sisters who are twins, and who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired (berpakaian) in the Islamic hijab i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and hands up to the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a mini skirts or shorts. Just around the corner there is a hooligan (buaya darat) or ruffian (samseng) who is waiting for a catch, to tease (mengganggu) a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijab or the girl wearing the mini skirt or the shorts? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skirt or the short one. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Quran rightly says that hijab prevents women from being molested.

7. Capital punishment for the rapist.

Under Islamic shariah, a man convicted of having raped a woman, is given capital punishment. Many are astonished at this ‘harsh’ sentence. Some even say that Islam is a ruthless, barbaric religion! I have asked a simple question to hundreds of non-Muslim men. Suppose, God forbid, someone rapes your wife, your mother or your sister. You are made the judge and the rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said they would put him to death. Some went to the extent of saying they would torture him to death. To them I ask, if someone rapes your wife or your mother, you want him to death. But if the same crime is committed on somebody else’s wife or daughter you say capital punishment is barbaric. Why should there be double standard?

8. Western society falsely claims to have uplifted women.

Western talk of women’s liberation is nothing but a disguised (samara) form of exploitation of her body, degradation of her soul, and deprivation (pencabutan) of her honour. Western society claims to have ‘uplifted’ women. On the contrary, it has actually degraded them to the status of kept-women and mistresses (gundik) and society’s butterflies who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketers, hidden behind the colourful screen of ‘art’ and ‘culture’.

9. USA has one of the highest rates of rape. United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries in the world. It also has one of the highest rate of rape in any country in the world. According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, everyday on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in USA alone. Later another rapes said that on average 1900 cases of rapes are committed daily in USA. The year was not mentioned. Maybe the Americans got ‘bolder’ in the following years.

Consider a scenario where the Islamic hijab is followed in America. Whenever a man lokks at a woman and any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic hijab, that is the complete body covered except the face and the hands up to the wrist. After this if any man commits rape he is given capital punishment. I ask you, in such scenario, will the rate of rape cases in America increase, will it remain the same, or will it decrease.

10. Implementation of Islamic Shariah will reduce the rate of rapes cases.

Naturally as soon as Islamic Shariah is implemented positive results will be inevitable (tak dapat dielakkan). If Islamic Shariah is implemented in any part of the world, whether it is America or Europe, society will breathe easier. Hijab does not degrade a woman but uplifts a woman and protects her modesty and chastity (kegadisan).

K, tajuk 20 Most Common Question About Islam this episode is about polyandry, antagonist from polygamy. Please proceed your reading to know how Dr Zakir Abdul-Karim Naik answer this matter.. =)

Question:

If a man is allowed to have more than 1 wife, then why does Islam prohibit (mengharamkan) a woman from having more than 1 husband?

Answer:

A lot of people, including some Muslim, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than 1 spouse than 1 spouse while denying the same ‘right’ to women.

Let me first state emphatically, that the foundation (dasar) of an Islamic society is justice and equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and different responsibilities, physiologically and psychologically. Their roles and responsibilities are different. Men and women are equal in Islam, but not identical (sama tapi tak serupa).

The following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in Islam:

1. If a man has more than 1 wife, the parents of the children born of such marriages can easily be identified. The father as well as the mother can easily be identified. In case of a woman marrying more than 1 husband, only the mother of the children born of such marriages will be identified and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance to the identification of both, mom and dad. Psychologist tell us that children who do not know their parents, especially their father undergo severe mental trauma and disturbance. Often they have an unhappy childhood. It is for this reason that the children of prostitutes (pelacur) do not have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such wedlock (ikatan perkahwinan) is admitted to school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she would have to give two or more names! I am aware that recent advances in science have made it possible for both mother and father to be identified with the help of genetic testing. Thus, this point which was applicable for the past may not be applicable for the present.

3. Biologically, it is easier for a man to perform his duties as a husband despite having several wives. A woman, in a similar position, having several husbands, will not find it possible to perform her duties as a wife. a woman undergoes several psychological and behavioral changes due to different phases of the menstrual cycle.

4. A woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual partners at the same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or sexually transmitted disease which can also be transmitted back to her husband even if all of them have no extra-marital sex. This is not the case in a man having more than 1 wife, and none of them having extra-marital sex.

The above reasons are those that 1 can easily identified. There are probably many more reasons why Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, has prohibited polyandry.

Question: Why is a man allowed to have more than one wife in Islam? Or why is polygamy allowed in Islam?

Answer:

Definition of Polygamy

1.Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby 1 person has more than 1 spouse (isteri/suami). Polygamy can be of two types. 1 is polygamy where a man marries more than 1 woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than 1 man. In Islam, limited polygamy is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited (haram).

Now coming to the original question, why is a man allowed to have more than one wife?

2.The Quran is the only religious scripture in the world that says, “marry only one”. The Quran is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase ‘marry only one’. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it be the Vedas, the Ramayanan, tha Mahabharat, the Geetha, the Talmus or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures, one can marry as many as one wishes. It was only later, that the Hindu priests(imam-imam) and the Christian Church restricted(membataskan) the number of wives to one.

Many Hindu religious personalities, according ro their scriptures, the father of Rama, had more than 1 wife. Krishna had several wives.

In earlier timea, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one.

Polygamy is permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygamy continued till Rabbi Gersomben Yehudah (960 A.D to 1030 A.D) issued an edict against it. The Jewish Sephardic communities living in Muslim countries continued the practice till as late as 1950, until an act of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel extended the ban on marrying more than one wife.

3.Hindus are more polygamous than Muslims.

The report of the Committee of the Status of Woman in Islam; published on 1975 mentions on page numbers 66 and 67 that the percentage of polygamous marriages between the years 1951 and 1961 was 5.06% among the Hindus and only 4.31% among the Muslims. According to Indian law only Muslim men are permitted to have more than 1 wife. Despite it being illegal, Hindus have more multiple wives as compared to Muslims. Earlier, there was no restriction even on Hindu men with respect to the number of wives allowed. It was only in 1954, when the Hindu Marriage Act was passed that it became illegal for a Hindu to have more than one wife. At present it is the Indian law that restricts a Hindu man from having more than one wife and not the Hindu scriptures.

As mentioned earlier, Quran is the only religious book on the face of the earth that says ‘marry only 1’: The context of this phrase is the following verse from Surah anNisa’ of the Holy Quran English translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali:

‘Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one’

[An-Nisa’ 4:3]

Before the Quran was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygamy and many men has scores of wives, some even hundreds. Islam put an upper limit of four wives. Islam gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, only on the condition that he deals justly with them (bila boleh berlaku adil kepada isteri2 ja baru leh berpoligami. Kalau tak, no way man! Satu ja boleh Allah kata…bukan teman yg kata…)

In the same chapter i.e. Surah Nisa’ verse 129 says:

“Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women….”

[An-Nisa’ 4: 129]

Therefore, polygamy is not a rule but an exception (pengecualian). Many people are under the misconceptionthat it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife. Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do’s and Don’ts:

(i) ‘Fard’ i.e. compulsory or obligatory

(ii)‘Mustahab’ i.e. recommended or encouraged

(iii)‘Mubah’ i.e. permissible or allowed

(iv)‘Makruh’ i.e. not recommended or discouraged

(v)‘Haram’ i.e. prohibited or forbidden

Polygamy falls in the third category of things that are permissible. It cannot be said that a Muslim who has two, three or four wives is a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife.

5.Average life span of females is more than that of males.

Males and females are born in approximately (kira-kira) the same ratio. A female child has more immunity than a male child. For the reason, during the pediatric age itself there are more deaths among males as compared to the females.

During wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. More men die due to accidents and diseases than women. The average life span of females is more than that of males, and at any given time one finds more widows (janda-janda) in the world than widowers (duda-duda).

6. India has a larger male population than female due to female foeticide and infanticide (janin). India is one of the few countries, along with the other neighbouring countries, in which the female population is less than the male population. The reason lies in the high rate of female infanticide in India, and the fact that more than one million female fetuses are aborted every year in this country, after they are identified as females. If this evil practice is stopped, then India too will have more females as compared to males.

7.The World female population is more than male population.

In USA, women outnumber men by 7.8 millon. New York alone has one million more females as compared to the number of males, and the male population of NY one-third(1/3) are homosexuals. The USA as a whole has more than 25 million homosexuals and lesbians. This means that these people do not wish to marry women. Great Britain has 4 million more females compared to males. Russia has 9 million more females than males. God alone knows how many million more females there are in the whole world as compared to males.

8.Restricting each and every man to have only one wife is not practical.

Even if every man got married to one woman, there would still be more than 30 million females in USA who would not be able to get husbands (considering that America has 25 million homosexuals and lesbians). There would be more than 4 million females in reat Britain, 5 million females in Germany and 9 million females in Russia alone who would not be able to find a husband.

Suppose my sister happens to be one of the unmarried women living in USA, or suppose your sister happens to be one of the unmarried women in USA. Among the options open to her are marriage to a man who already has a wife, or becomes “public property”(harta awam). Those who are modest (suci) will opt (pilih) for the first.

In Western society, it is common for a man to have mistresses (gundik) and/or multiple extramarital affairs, in which case, the woman leads a disgraceful (tercela), unprotected life. The same society, however, cannot accept a man having more than one wife, in which women retain their honourable, dignified position in society and lead a protected life.

Between the two options to a woman who cannot find a husband get married to a married man or become “public property,” Islam prefers giving women the honourable position by permitting the first option and disallowing the second.

There are several other reasons, why Islam has permitted polygamy, but the aim is mainly to protect the modesty of women.